Crisis averted as State rushes to stop planned civil servants' strike
Public Service and Human Capital Development Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi (left) and Union of Kenya Civil Servants Secretary-General Tom Odege address journalists during a presser on September 3, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Terms contained in the CBA that both the union and government agreed to implement in two phases.
- When the government failed to honour its end of the bargain in July, the union issued a one-week ultimatum.
The national civil servants’ union has asked its members to stand down after the government agreed to honour the second phase of the Collective Bargaining Agreement it had initially breached.
Union of Kenya Civil Servants (UKCS) on Tuesday said civil servants would get a pay rise backdated to July 1 to reflect the new arrangement with the Public Service ministry.
The terms were contained in the CBA that both the union and government agreed to implement in two phases.
The first phase of the CBA covered July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The second phase, which was breached, covers July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
When the government failed to honour its end of the bargain in July, the union representing public service workers issued a one-week ultimatum to their employer, failure to which they would boycott work.
UKCS Secretary-General Tom Odege said that because the government had granted its demands, their members should consider the second phase of the CBA fully implemented.
Subsequently, Mr Odege said "by the end of the month, all of them (civil servants) will get their pay backdated."
The government intervention, announced by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi effectively averts a looming crisis that would have hit Kenyans if government operations were interrupted.
Mr Odege spoke moments after Mr Muturi assured them that the government, through National Treasury, had "agreed to provide resources for the payment of civil servants as per the terms contained in the CBA."
The civil servants had threatened a strike if they did not receive a pay rise at the end of the month. This is after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) froze all salary increments in a bid to arrest a spiraling wage bill.
The commission argued that the move was necessary due to the financial struggles facing the Exchequer in light of growing debt repayment obligations and missed revenue collections.
The union had also sued the SRC following its decision to freeze all salary increments that resulted in the setback and the breach of the agreement that was supposed to be implemented by July this year.
But following the intervention, UKCS told the Nation it was withdrawing the case against the commission.
"We are in the process of withdrawing the case. We have instructed our lawyer to withdraw it,” Mr Odege told the Nation on phone.
Civil servants had moved to court Monday to challenge the decision by SRC freezing their salary increment, arguing that the move was a violation of their rights and the constitution.
The UKCS said in a petition filed at the High Court that the circular issued on July 18, 2024 amounts to denial, violation and infringement of their fundamental rights.
The union further stated that the decision contravenes an existing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by the union and the government, regarding salary increment of its members.
“That this honourable court do issue a temporary order directing the 1st Respondent (SRC) to temporarily recall and suspend its decision to freeze the implementation of salary increments of all public servants as contained in their circular issued on the 18th July 2024 pending the inter-partes hearing and determination of the application,” the petition read.
The union had negotiated an agreement last year which was agreeably being implemented in two phases.
The agreement was to ensure that employees in service receive an annual salary increment as contained in the basic structure for the respective grades.
But despite the existence of the said CBA, SRC froze the implementation of salary review of all public officers in the financial year 2024/2025 until further notice, thereby affecting the ongoing salary increment, which was ongoing.
